Some Things Are Too Good to Throw Away
There are axes that come into the workshop looking for a second life. And then there are axes that come in looking like they have already lived several. This old head is firmly in the second category. It came to the workshop in a milkcrate full of axe heads that all showed signs of hard […]
AXE HEAD WEIGHT – WHAT REALLY MATTERS?
FORGOTTEN STEEL WORKSHOP – Restoration Guide One of the most common questions I get is: “What weight axe should I buy?” Usually it’s asked while someone is holding a freshly restored head and trying to decide whether it is a serious working axe or merely a decorative object that should hang above a fireplace beside […]
HOW TO MAKE AN AXE HANDLE FROM SCRATCH – PART 1
FORGOTTEN STEEL WORKSHOP – Restoration Guide Why Make Your Own Handle? There is a particular satisfaction that comes from swinging an axe on a handle you made with your own hands. It is the same feeling you get from sharpening a chisel until it quietly shaves end grain or bringing an old plane back to […]
PAPER LABEL TROJAN RESTORATION FSA-0060
Original paint, a partially surviving paper label and the sort of honest Australian working axe that rarely turns up untouched. Some finds are exciting because of the maker. Others are exciting because they have survived against the odds. This Trojan paper label axe is firmly in the second category. I picked it up during a […]
AN AFTERNOON WITH RON
Sometimes you head out to buy an axe. Sometimes you come home with a head full of stories, a notebook full of history and the uncomfortable realisation that other people suffer from the same axe addiction you do. One of the things I enjoy most about Forgotten Steel isn’t actually the axes. It’s the people. […]
HYTEST FORGED TOOLS ROUND POLL RESTORATION FSA-0052
An honest Australian working axe from the 1960s, complete with its original hardwood handle and traces of factory green paint. This Hytest Forged Tools round poll recently arrived on the Forgotten Steel workbench carrying exactly the sort of wear I like to see on an old Australian axe. Not abuse. Not neglect. Just the quiet […]
MILLERS FALLS BARN BEAM BORING MACHINE RESTORATION FSR-007
Sometimes the most interesting restorations aren’t the tools that fit in your hand. They’re the ones that built the buildings still standing around us. There are certain tools that stop people in their tracks the moment they walk into the workshop. This vintage Millers Falls Barn Beam Boring Machine is one of them. Most people […]
CYCLONE RESTORATION FSA-0054
Sometimes an axe doesn’t need saving. It just needs finishing the way you always wished the factory had. Not every axe that lands on the Forgotten Steel workbench has spent decades buried beneath rust in the corner of a shed. Every now and then one comes along that has simply waited patiently for someone to […]
COLD MORNINGS & QUIET GULLIES
Sometimes the best trips aren’t measured by what you bring home. This morning Jaylah and I were out the door just after 7am, heading into Belanglo State Forest to scout a few new spots for the coming deer season. It was a brisk 4°C, the sort of morning where the air is crisp enough to […]
ROBERT SORBY PROEDGE DELUXE REVIEW
FORGOTTEN STEEL WORKSHOP REVIEW A premium sharpening system that quietly gets on with the job. Expensive? Yes. Worth it? It depends on how much sharpening you actually do. There are very few tools in my workshop that I would describe as a genuine luxury. Most have earned their place because they solve a problem, save […]